Our employees are preparing for new homes and commercial growth by extending service to a rural area outside of Flagstaff.
Crews recently completed a seven-mile mainline extension to the Walnut Creek area in Coconino County where a new 50-home development is planned.
Developers requested natural gas for the Walnut Creek Meadows subdivision, providing UniSource’s gas team with an opportunity for a unique project in a new area.
“We were getting a lot of feedback from customers who wanted to tie into our natural gas service,” said Travis Puklavetz, Supervisor of Construction and Maintenance for Flagstaff Gas Construction.
Construction of the first homes in Walnut Creek Meadows, about 19 miles east of downtown Flagstaff, began in the spring. Home lots range from 2.5 acres to 6 acres each on land homesteaded in the early 1900s alongside Walnut Creek, according to the development website.
The gas line extension will allow UniSource to deliver natural gas to 100 or more customers in the area. Other nearby residents have indicated that they’d like to add natural gas to their properties, which they were unable to do previously.
“Given how remote the area is, it has been exciting to be able to offer gas service that far in the county limits,” said Richard Perez, Flagstaff District Manager for UniSource Gas.
To the west, UniSource gas crews are planning to increase natural gas capacity to accommodate new homes and industrial businesses. In the Bellemont area, 94 new townhomes are planned for the Shadow Mountain Village complex, along with standalone homes that are being added to the Flagstaff Meadows subdivision.
In recent years, UniSource crews have undertaken other projects to improve reliability and accommodate growth in and around Flagstaff.
In 2022, crews replaced a regulator station northeast of Flagstaff.Last year, employees upgraded systems serving Lowell Observatory and completed service on a 5-story condo complex, which is the highest building UniSource had served in the area to date.
